The House finally appears ready to repeal the WEP and the GPO

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives appear finally on the cusp of passing legislation to repeal two controversial tax provisions that affect the annuity payments of some federal retirees, despite an attempt this week to derail the vote.

Last September, representatives obtained. Garret Graves, R-La., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., the 218 signatures needed for a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82), a measure that would eliminate Social Security windfall provision and government pension compensation. Prior to the petition drive, the bill already had more than 300 co-sponsors.

The windfall elimination provision reduces the Social Security benefits of retired federal employees who spent part of their careers in the private sector in addition to a federal, state, or local government job where Social Security is not intended to be part of their retirement income , such as the civil servants’ pension system. And the government pension offset reduces Social Security benefits for spouses and survivors in families with retired government employees.

The successful discharge petition requires House Speaker Mike Johnson, himself a co-sponsor of the bill, to call the measure up for a vote when Congress returns to Washington. The measure is on a list of bills that House leadership wants to pass under a suspension of rules, a fast track that will require the support of two-thirds of lawmakers next week, despite a failed attempt to slow the bill’s momentum with to slow down two DC countries. area conservatives this week.

On Election Day, just after 5 p.m., Reps. Bob Good, R-Va., and Andy Harris, R-Md., the former and current chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, respectively, held a pro forma session on the House floor in whereupon Good requested unanimous consent to introduce the legislation, effectively killing the bill. The exchange was first reported by Roll Call.

But the gamble apparently failed for two reasons. First, since a House lawmaker could hear Good and Harris brief on the House floor, unanimous consent requests must first be approved by the Speaker of the House and the House Minority Leader.

And second, while Freedom Caucus members moved to introduce Graves and Spanberger’s bill, the dismissal request requires the speaker to schedule a vote on the rule governing the bill’s consideration. The measure tops the list of bills to be considered next week under suspension of the rules, last updated an hour after the pro forma session.

It remains unclear how the measure would fare in the Senate, where companion legislation has the support of 63 senators but has languished in committee since its introduction last year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would cost $196 billion in additional spending on Social Security benefits over the next decade.